Don’t blame the tigers, blame deforestation

A small child from a forest village in Indonesia - where as more rainforest is cleared, tigers stray into villages putting lives at risk.

As a teenage boy is killed by a tiger forced out of its natural habitat by deforestation, we ask how serious must this get before KFC publicly cut ties with companies pulping rainforests.

Following huge public outcry, KFC recently announced the start of a process to examine where they get paper for items like napkins and chicken buckets. But examination is not enough! Despite having months to reflect, they've still not announced zero tolerance on deforestation. And they still haven't said whether they will cut ties with companies like Asia Pulp & Paper, who are pulping tiger habitat.

And while KFC dither the situation is becoming increasingly grave.

Sumadi is from Jumrah village in Indonesia. Before the deforestation started, there were no problems with tigers. But as the animal's natural habitat was destroyed, tigers were forced in to areas where the villagers lived and worked.

It was a normal day for Sumadi and his family. They were working the land near their village when the tiger appeared. Frightened and confused, it attacked and killed Ahmad, Sumadi’s 18 year-old son.

“No one wanted to help us carry his body [back to the village],” Sumadi explained. “No one dared because the tiger was still near. My wife and I had to carry him on our own. When we felt tired we put him down and cleared the dirt from his face. It was difficult. He was covered in blood.

“When the forest was still in good condition, no tigers entered our village. After the forest was cleared our son was attacked. It’s enough that our son became a victim, but my wife no longer comes with me to look after our land. Whenever she comes to the forest she will remember our son.”

Sumadi, whose 18-year-old son Ahmad was killed by a Sumatran tiger.

Sumadi does not blame the tiger for Ahmad's death. He explained: “All I want is for our forest not to be cleared. Leave some forest for the Sumatran tiger. When there is no more forest obviously tigers will enter our villages.”

It's encouraging that KFC, as the world's largest fast food company, are starting to examine the issue of its paper supply. But strong vision and decisive action is needed now.

If we are going to stop the destruction of tiger habitat, then global giants like KFC must stop buying from APP so that they see that clearing forests is not only bad for tigers and local communities but also bad for their business.

KFC CEO, David Novak, fancies himself as a leadership guru, recently winning CEO of the year. Yet he has so far failed to provide strong leadership on deforestation.

So we're asking the KFC Board to pull him in to line. They're the one group Novak must answer to. He can't ignore them.

So far, over 30,000 people have emailed the KFC Board of Directors asking them to cut rainforests from KFC packaging. Why not add your voice and help protect tiger habitat and the communities around them.